This invention concerns vibratory conveyors, which may be used for conveying articles or parts from one location to another, or as a parts feeder for bringing articles or parts to a given process step, or as an orientation device for orienting parts so that a process step may be carried out more efficiently.
The invention is more concerned with devices which use vibration to convey and/or orient parts on a reciprocating trough or platform.
In vibratory conveyors, there is a bed or trough that carries the workpieces, a vibratory motor that provides vibratory motion. Conventional unidirectional vibratory drive motors produce a jumpy or jerky motion with a significant vertical component. These miss out on the advantages possible with a more-or-less harmonic vibratory motion, where motion is confined to the horizontal plane, i.e., the plane of the conveyor bed.
Vibratory feeders have been used for many years and there are many different methods used to impart the vibration that leads to workpiece movement and orientation. These methods involve movement in two directions in respect to the conveyor trough: typically with both a longitudinal component and a vertical component, or a longitudinal component and a horizontal component. In either case, there is a jerky ratcheting motion, with the workpieces being thrown forward and upward or forward and sideways by the reciprocating trough for moving the parts with each vibration. These systems are loud and somewhat inefficient, and produce shaking which limits their usefulness to handling of tough durable workpieces.
Previously, vibratory motors for these conveyors have been unable to provide motion only in a back and forth direction, or to provide the vibrations without the rough shaking and jerking that can damage the more delicate parts and components on the assembly line.